Cost analyses of uranium enrichment by laser isotope separation process

Norihiko Ozaki, Kimio Yamada, Manabu Yamamoto, Shunsuke Tomiyama and Kiichi Ueyanagi

Applied Energy, 1976, vol. 2, issue 4, 279-294

Abstract: The probability of the selective two-step photoionisation of 235U atoms by laser and ultraviolet radiations is estimated from the rate equations for uranium atoms with two isotopes with three levels. The population of 235U ions is obtained by linearising the rate equations. We have calculated the ion production rates for three cases in which the laser and ultraviolet powers are changed while the atom density is kept constant. The power consumption and the capital investment required for the large-scale laser enrichment plant conceptionally designed based upon the above results, and consequently the unit cost of separative work, are estimated. It is concluded that the laser isotope separation process could be competitive with the conventional gaseous diffusion and gas centrifugal methods.

Date: 1976
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